I actually wrote about David Comp and his indispensable International Higher Education Consulting blog two days ago, and yesterday David more than returned the favor with a fantastic post on Working World, both the book and the blog. What I like most about his post is that he really gets at what we’re trying to do:
Working World blog not only provides well written and insightful posts on career development and planning but it also offers excellent and timely pieces on the field itself which engages readers on a second level (meaning you don’t need to be on the market for a new job to benefit from the content on Working World blog).
That “second level” David mentions is a critical component of building a career (in our fields and in all fields), but one that is often forgotten in the world of career advice. I’ve ranted on this before: I don’t like that many career advice columns and blog posts often boil a subject down to trite lists— 12 strategies for overcoming shyness, 5 ways to beat the economic downturn, 37 steps to a new you. In such lists there is no focus on building a career or what it means to be engaged in the field in which you want to build that career. Rather it is only the author passing on his or her divinely-inspired wisdom to you, the humble reader, no further discussion needed. But things don’t boil down into numbered sets and whatever any one writer has to say about any one subject is never the last word. There are always other opinions and angles to be considered, other aspects to be learned. Sherry and I have always tried to stray away from giving this kind of tidy, no-further-argument-needed advice and to examine these fields as a whole—both issues in career development and issues that affect the fields at large. I appreciate David recognizing this and noting it.
And as he says about us, I’ll say about him: David’s posts are timely and insightful and required reading for those interested in building, or those already building, a career in international education, exchange, and development. His sites are in our blogroll, so check them out, then check back regularly.
